As a conventional connector, there is known a connector that includes a first housing accommodating female terminals as a plurality of first terminals, a second housing which is fittable to the first housing and which accommodates male terminals as a plurality of second terminals connectable to the female terminals, a short-circuit terminal accommodated in the first housing to have contact pieces in contact with the adjacent female terminals, and releasing pieces provided in the second housing to displace the contact pieces, thereby cancelling the contact between the female terminals and the contact pieces (see US 2007/0054547 A1).
In the plurality of female terminals accommodated in the first housing of the conventional connector, for example, two adjacent female terminals are connected to an air bag circuit that controls the operation of an air bag.
The two adjacent female terminals are connected to each other through the contact piece since they come into contact with the contact piece of the short-circuit terminal accommodated in the first housing under a condition that the first housing and the second housing are not fitted to each other.
In this way, by connecting the two female terminals through the short-circuit terminal under the condition that the first housing and the second housing are not fitted to each other, there is no possibility that a potential difference is produced between the two female terminals, thereby preventing an erroneous inflation of the air bag.
The connection between the two female terminals and the short-circuit terminal is cancelled since the fitting of the first housing and the second housing allows the contact pieces of the short-circuit terminal to be displaced by the releasing pieces of the second housing so that the contact between the female terminals and the contact pieces is cancelled.